We Have Today

Who can tell me what’s going to happen tomorrow? How about a week, a month, or a year from now?

I’ve tried. I can’t.

In fact, no one has ever been able to accurately predict all outcomes. Sure, a few have looked into their crystal balls and picked a few winners, but if the purveyors of doom were completely accurate, our species would have perished centuries ago.

We do we have today.

What stands on the other side of this very moment is defenseless against this moment. I believe that if we “make hay while the sun is shining” then we are rewarded–by God, by the Universe (as my friend Booth says), through our own mental alignment.

Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today.

We hope for tomorrow.

Hope is powerful. It drives us today for the unseen, yet I’m suggesting that we live for today. Paradoxical I know: live in the now and dream for tomorrow.

For years I’ve wrestled with the whole concept of carpe diem. Living for the now seems so zen, so perfect, yet I think that it lacks something. Here’s the challenge: We must live in the now looking forward to tomorrow while realizing that tomorrow may not be exactly what I am hoping for and ready to change to meet that reality. Take a minute to chew on that one. 🙂

It’s like surfing. In reality, surfing is an act of controlled falling. From the moment you “get up” on the board you are falling, yet in the moment (albeit brief) you are standing. If you are realize you are falling, you will, but if you artfully lean into it, you surf. Life, and even business, is artful when you hold this paradox. Take a look at this post exploring this idea in more depth.

So, in short, here’s where my brain has been for a few weeks:

1. Live for today

2. Hope for tomorrow

3. Be ready for change

 
DaveOnFlicker’s photo used and modified under creative commons license. 

 


Jeremy Floyd

Jeremy Floyd is the President at FUNYL Commerce. Formerly, he was the CEO and President of Lirio, Bluegill Creative, a marketing and communications firm in Knoxville, Tennessee. In addition to managing the digital strategies, Floyd was an adjunct professor for the University of Tennessee Chattanooga MBA program teaching digital strategies and social media. Floyd blogs at jeremyfloyd.com and tweets under the name @jfloyd. Jeremy is licensed to practice law in the State of Tennessee and holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from MTSU in English and Philosophy.